Sambousek — country by country
Golden half-moon pastries — the first thing to vanish from any iftar table.
Every country brings its own touch. Here's how they differ.
⚔️ Head to head
Pick two kitchens and see exactly where they part ways.
🇱🇧 Lebanon
✨ Meat filling sweetened with onion and pine nuts; crescents crimped by hand and fried.
Only in Lebanon
- flour
- oil, plus more for frying
- ground beef or lamb
- onion, minced
- pine nuts
- seven-spice
- salt
🇪🇬 Egypt
✨ Cheese-and-mint filling in a thinner wrapper, often made with spring-roll pastry for extra crunch.
Only in Egypt
- samosa or spring-roll pastry
- white cheese, crumbled
- dried mint
- egg (to seal)
- oil for frying
🇱🇧 Lebanon
⏱ 60 minLebanese sambousek comes in two moods: cheese with parsley, or spiced meat with pine nuts.
✨ What makes it special
Meat filling sweetened with onion and pine nuts; crescents crimped by hand and fried.
🇪🇬 Egypt
⏱ 45 minEgypt's sambousek often goes big on white cheese with mint, sold hot from Ramadan carts.
✨ What makes it special
Cheese-and-mint filling in a thinner wrapper, often made with spring-roll pastry for extra crunch.